1. Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra | Boulevard De L’independence | Nonesuch
The kora kingpin leaves behind the folk music and gives a big-ass band the green light to fill the dance floor. An intricate, best-of-both-worlds maneuver that rides along on a rich parade of textures.

2. Sonic Youth | Rather Ripped | GeffenUpending an esthetic built on extrapolation, the graying improvisers cut everything down to size on this still-experimental romp. Call it a testament to the diversity of guitar sounds. Plus: the glee of their creative process is obvious at every turn.

3. Neko Case | Fox Confessor Brings The Flood | Anti-
A chanteuse in chaps, Case made her most compelling statement yet with a disc of atmospheric ditties that soar on her lusty coo and some mildly arcane lyrics. Don’t forget the string of images that wouldn’t be out of place on a Dylan album.

4. My Chemical Romance | The Black Parade | Reprise
If you’re gloomy and you know it, clap your hands. And if one of your career goals is concocting a finely etched palace of pessimism, grab that eyeliner and get to work. The year’s most majestic blast of despair.

5. Bob Dylan | Modern Times | Columbia
Laughing and lusting as the apocalypse approaches (“all those ladies in Washington better get outta town!”) pop’s wise man acts like a blues whippersnapper — the record, almost as entertaining as Love and Theft, teems with barbs, riddles, and — as if you didn’t know — philosophy.

6. Joanna Newsom | YS | Drag City
Yup, she makes you come to her, and nope, it ain’t always easy. But the celebrated harpist with the Olive Oyl voice and the anachronistic lyrics has enough artistic authority to reward every bit of work she asks of you. With echoes of Astral Weeks and other unorthodox song cycles floating through the air, she has you rethinking the power of nature and the thrill of desire.

8. Regina Spektor | Begin To Hope | Sire
The classically-trained boho grabbed a producer to help her go pop, and it changed everything. Here’s where her trademark whimsy plays footsie with unmistakable hooks, and man, does it pay off. Watch your back, Nellie McKay.

9. Marisa Monte | Universo Ao Meu Redor | EMI
Full-on samba from a modern-minded Brazilian belle who likes to mess with tradition even when she’s giving it a smooch or two. The approach is light — can samba be spun any other way? But there are enough quirks to personalize the pieces. And, long story short, Monte’s voice is one of the world’s wonders.

10. The Hold Steady | Boys and Girls in America | Vagrant
Sometimes it seems like a collection of party anthems; other times it seems like an indictment against the social torpor of the ’burbs. Craig Finn’s enough of a writer to make both resonate with verity after verity about the distance we place between us. He sells it to middle-agers like me by pinching classic rock references and singing like a punk.

Swing, etc. The music may suffer plenty of economic slings and arrows these days, but it's still full of thrills galore. As usual, it's looking outside of its orthodoxy for invigorating ideas. Here are titles you truly need.

Live and kicking Yes, we suffer from an embarrassment of riches when it come to live music here in the Boston area.

The unnamable If Bob Dylan were a real movie director, I’m Not There is probably the movie he’d make about his own life

He’s here! I’m Not There is an apt name for a bio-pic with six Bob Dylans, none of them the real one.

Agent Zimmerman I had just removed his hand — gently, I hope — from my knee when the man in the off-white linen suit told me that he was the one who recruited Bob Dylan into the CIA.

Wasted again Who was Edie Sedgwick? Was she a muse who inspired some notable work by Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan or just a footnote in their careers? Did she have any talent or accomplishments of her own? Why, in short, does she deserve a bio-pic? Watch the trailer for Factory Girl (QuickTime)

TEN BEST BETS AT THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL | August 01, 2012 The Newport Jazz Festival has been on a roll these last few years, blending the commercial clout of big names with the creative cred of adventurous newcomers.

20 DISCS YOU NEED | December 21, 2011 Astoundingly intricate notions rendered with a glowing attack on this solo disc by the NYC pianist. Perhaps its real triumph is the array of approaches it brokers throughout the program — each distinct, yet related.

THE BEACH BOYS | SMILE | November 02, 2011 Never doubt the impact of whimsy as it applies to Brian Wilson's art. At the peak of his powers — 1965-'67, let's say — the Beach Boys boss was a sage arranger/composer and bona fide pop innovator.